Take my hand, and I'll guide you there
by Tia-Chan18
Summary: -A collection of drabbles/one-shots of our favourite orange haired couple-
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. i suppose I'm starting a new Ichihime drabble series because I really miss these guys and I need to start writing again. I haven't done a story like this, so I hope it's decent. Anyways, please let me know what you think :)

* * *

Her heart clenched tightly as she looked at the love of her life one last time. She couldn't believe she had to say goodbye, but if it was the only way to protect the people she loved, she'd gladly sacrifice herself. At the back of her mind, she knew the Soul Society would think she betrayed them. Whether this was Aizen's plan or not, she couldn't turn her back on the decision now. She had silently confessed her feelings to Ichigo, and while she was cheering on the inside, her emotions betrayed her on the outside as she cried without being noticed.

A part of her whispered she shouldn't have touched his hand, in case she had healed it subconsciously. Another part of her told her not to worry about such thoughts as she'd probably never see this boy again. She wanted to be selfish, and as much as she wanted to kiss him, to see how soft his lips were, a part of her said it was unfair to steal a kiss from him without permission. She wanted to shake him awake, alert him of her presence to tell him where she was headed. However, the thought of him or her friends being killed in front of her eyes made her dismiss that thought. She frowned when she felt tears run down her face and she wiped them away but they seemed to be as stubborn as her and kept falling from her eyes.

This would be the last time she cried before facing the enemy. They probably knew she was weak, but she didn't want to confirm their thoughts. Sighing, she took a deep breath before she wiped away the tears. She saw Ulquiorra standing at the meeting spot. the pale man had a dull expression on his face as he turned to look at her.

"Ready to go Onna?"

Taking another deep breath before facing the man head on, she whispered, "Yes.."

He gave her a look before turning around to start walking through the garganta, the human girl willingly followed.

' _Sorry... Ichigo-kun."_

* * *

In a house, a few blocks away from the destination in which Orihime left, a young boy with bright orange hair rustled around in his sleep. Sweat rolled down his cheeks as he slept; completely unaware of his friend leaving with the enemy. It appeared he was having a nightmare as he kept tossing and turning in his sleep, his hand seemed to reach for something.. or rather **someone**. A frown appeared on his face before a look of pain replaced it, followed by the following words,

"Come back... Orihime."


	2. Chapter 2

"Marry me."

The girl's eyes widened and her mouth was left hanging open. He could see the internal battle she was having within herself. He knew the risks he was taking, but he was willing to do all of this for her.

"But.. Kurosaki-kun..."

"I don't care."

Before she could respond, his lips sealed over hers, silencing her protests. She felt her body slack as her responses were as frantic and demanding. His hands rested on her face, keeping her as physically close as possible. Moans spilled from her lips, allowing his tongue to snake its way in, her grip tightening in his hair. A low growl escaped his throat as he repeated against her mouth,

"Marry me."

Her eyes fluttered shut as Ichigo trailed his kisses down her neck, latching his lips to the hollow of her throat before suckling on the skin until it turned red. Orihime gasped when she felt a sharp pinch on her neck where his teeth sank in, marking her as his.

She knew this was wrong, he was already in an arranged marriage. Yes, they both loved each other very much, but he was a prince. She was just his servant, and that's how the whole kingdom saw it. But both of them saw their situation differently. If she agreed to it, he wouldn't be the prince and they'd be forced to flee the country.

"Ichigo..."

The orange-haired prince looked up before pressing a kiss to her lips. It was sweet and tender, the complete opposite from earlier. She shuddered and hugged her lover closer.

"I know it's a lot to ask from you. You'd have to leave everyone you know and love behind. But I promise I'll protect you. I don't care what the others say, I only want you. I don't even want to be King if it means I can't have you. So I will ask you one last time; Orihime Inoue, will you marry me?"

There were a lot of reasons she should say no. But one look into his serious chocolate brown eyes made her forget all those fears and doubts. All that mattered was the guy in front of her. She could feel the smile creep to her face before her hand laced with his. All the tension melted away as she answered,

".. Yes."

He replied with a hard kiss to her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

I randomly thought of the prompt, smile, but I couldn't figure out how to turn it into a story. I hope I did it justice, and please feel free to submit ideas to me! I really need motivation to write .

This was intended to be a drabble but the idea just kinda ran away on me. I hope you guys like this nonetheless!

* * *

She didn't know why she felt so melancholy. Everyone had just graduated and were cheering loudly. Clenching the diploma in her hand, she could feel a smile grace her lips as she looked at all her friends who basked in the celebration. All of them had families they were hugging and chatting animately with, while she stood alone. She decided to leave Tatsuki alone with her family, her mother and father hugging and embarrassing the karate champion. She guessed the relatives Chad were talking to were his aunt and uncle, though it was hard to tell. Even Uryu's father had come to see him graduate, and though both weren't exactly chatting, she could tell in his expression that Ryuken was in fact, proud of his son.

What made her feel so uncomfortable however, was seeing the way the Kurosaki family acted. She was very proud of Ichigo for graduating with the rest of them, but what made her so saddened was the remembrance of her brother. Ichigo was actually smiling, and not the usual smirk he wears in battle or the scowl he wears on a daily basis. But rather a genuine smile. She gathered this is how he used to be when he was a child and his mother was with them. Though the only person who would know this is Tatsuki. But she felt it tug at her heart.

She realized that this could've been what it looked like with her and Sora if he had been alive. She could imagine her parents weren't abusive, but rather happy and proud like Isshin. The way both Yuzu and Karin hugged and congratulated their older brother made her think of Sora and how he'd always smile at her and give her praise. She knew life for them wasn't easy, with Ichigo being gone most of the time and not knowing the entire situation. And yet, despite feeling her heart ache, she couldn't take her eyes away from the sight.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath before turning her eyes to anything else but the loving bond they had, ignoring the stare Ichigo was giving her.

 _'This is ridiculous. I can't believe I'm actually feeling envious over a scene like that. Gosh Orihime. Get it together!'_

She felt a tear fall from her eye and she quickly wiped it away before taking her brooding mood away from the happy atmosphere.

.

.

.

"You should go see if she's alright son."

Blinking, Ichigo tore his gaze from the healer's retreating back to his father's rather serious tone. He vaguely heard his father's words but instead of seeming like an idiot, he just raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's got to be hard on her Ichigo. Orihime-chan doesn't have any family with her today. Or were you so oblivious to everything you failed to notice that?"

Feeling a small blush of embarrassment raise to his cheeks, He clenched his diploma in his hand, "What do you think I was going to do? I was going to check on her but I got ambushed!"

Karin scoffed, "Yeah right. I bet you just chickened out at the last minute Ichi-nii. You know, it's rude to keep a girl waiting, especially one like Orihime-chan. You should have better manners."

Turning his gaze to his sister, he was about to shout before Yuzu cut him off, her face on the brink of tears. "Please Onii-chan! Go see Orihime-neechan! I don't want her to be alone on a special day like this. She should be able to enjoy this day too!"

Ignoring Yuzu's implications of Orihime being an older sister, Ichigo sighed before handing them his diploma. "I told you guys, I was planning on doing that! Jesus, you don't have to harp on me!"

As he started walking away from his family, he overheard Yuzu shout, "Invite her to the celebration dinner tonight!"

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.

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Sitting on a small bench they had near the baseball diamond, Orihime sighed for the third time within five minutes. She didn't want to disrupt everyone with her negativity, so she chose to seclude herself in the back of the school. She didn't want to distance herself too much, otherwise she wouldn't hear the end of it from Tatsuki. It had been a year since the Hueco Mundo incident and Tatsuki's protectiveness spiked since she came back. She was happy she had someone who would be so concerned with her well-being, but it was still new to her. She didn't want to always be protected, but rather be the protector.

She turned her gaze to the diploma in her hand, a sign of accomplishment. She could feel her lips form into a smile and she laughed lightly before hugging the piece of paper to her chest.

' _I hope you're proud Onii-chan. I did this all for you.'_

"You should smile more."

Gasping, her eyes opened and turned their attention to the shinigami who stood beside her, wearing his usual scowl.

Giving a small chuckle, she looked at him with a look he'd never seen her wear before, "Well, you should too Kurosaki-kun. It's not everyday you grace us with that beautiful smile of yours."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, he scratched the back of his head before coughing into his hand. "Why are you hiding yourself away from everyone? You know if Tatsuki notices you went missing, she'll skin me alive."

She turned her head away from his piercing gaze to look at the open field.

"I just didn't want to ruin the mood. Everyone seemed so happy and I didn't want to oppose with my gloominess."

Sighing, he walked towards the bench before placing himself beside her.

"You know, we're not going to be angry with you. If you feel upset or uncomfortable, there's nothing wrong with expressing it. We've told you this before, at least Tatsuki's scolded you about it, but if you have a problem, you can come to any of us and we'll help you."

"That's the thing, none of you can help me with this."

Looking at the young woman beside him, Ichigo chose to keep his mouth and wait patiently while she gathered her thoughts. "I mean, all of you have your family here to celebrate this day with. I know it's such a silly thing to get jealous over, but I can't help but envy you guys for it. It's not any of your guys' faults for the way my family is, but I just take a look at everyone and can't help but feel left out. I constantly scold myself because I shouldn't get depressed or angry at seeing you guys happy, but there's times like these where I remember how it used to be with onii-chan and I can't help but feel so lonely." Sighing, she took a deep breath before sneaking a glance at her love. It seemed he was deep in thought, contemplating how to reply to her. She knew she should've just kept this to herself, not wanting to show any kind of weakness towards the man she's looked up to for a long time.

"It's okay to feel lonely, Orihime."

The shock of hearing her first name come from his lips made her keep her direct attention on the boy beside her. "I know exactly how you feel, the loneliness of not being able to celebrate with a loved one. When my mother died, I honestly didn't think I could be happy ever again. I ignored everyone and isolated myself because I thought no one would know the pain I'm going through. I was kinda stupid back then, as I wasn't the only one affected by her death. My old man, Yuzu and Karin were equally devastated as me, if not worse. Eventually, we all grew up and just kinda learned how to cope with it. But there are days when it's especially hard to handle the pain, but on those days, we stick together and get through it together." Placing a hand on her head, he smiled at her, "So you see, you're not the only one grieving today. I mean, it's a bit easier for me because I have my family, but it doesn't mean the pain is gone. Sometimes it's just better to be around people instead of isolating yourself. It's easier to share the pain with someone else than to shoulder it on your own."

She didn't know if it was because she was emotional about today or if his story made her heart cry out, but Orihime found herself practically jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly. She felt him stiffen a bit before his muscles relaxed and he returned her embrace a bit tighter than hers. She felt a few tears escape her eyes as they hit the exposed part of his neck, but she felt his hand cup her head and rest it in the crook of his neck. They both sat there, basking in the warmth of their embrace, happy no one was there to ruin their moment together.

Orihime took a deep breath before pulling her head from his neck, a smile graced her lips as she looked into his warm gaze.

"Thank you... Ichigo."

He felt his lips curl into a smile before he wiped the remainder of her tears with his thumb. The wind blew by both of them causing Orihime to shiver. Pulling her closer to his body, he whispered,

"You're welcome Orihime."

Feeling her smile against his neck, he held her closer before beginning to stand up. Said girl squeaked in shock before looking at him, her eyes wide and her legs wrapping around his hips.

"You know, the world seems like a brighter place when you smile. You should smile more, Orihime."

Feeling a blush hit her cheeks, she kept her face hidden in his neck, attempting to hide her embarrassment. Placing her back on her feet, he moved his hand to grab hers. She felt tingles shoot through her body but chose to look at him, his eyes soft and warm.

"I forgot to mention, my old man and sisters are throwing me a celebration party." Scratching the back of his head, he directed his attention to the ground beneath their feet, "Yuzu told me I can invite you to come. It was intended to be a family party, but she insisted you came to it. I guess she has this idea in her head you're like a sister to her or something. I don't know what my family is planning, but I hope you'll come with me. I'd like if you were there."

She felt her heart soar in happiness and she couldn't help but squeeze his hand tighter.

"I would love to join you for dinner."


	4. Chapter 4

So it seems like people enjoy longer chapters? I should honestly keep that in mind from now on. However, I feel that some prompts are better short just to have a better meaning? I'm kinda rambling but pretty much, I'm gonna try to give longer chapters.

* * *

 _The first time they met, it was pouring. She could barely carry her brother to the clinic as she struggled to keep herself on her feet. Her vision was blurry as the rain continued to hit the little girl. Her tears mixed with it and she could feel her body start to cave. Her pants grew harsh as she whispered with bated breath,_

 _"Onii-chan... Please don't die."_

 _When she saw the sign saying 'Kurosaki Clinic' she felt her chest start to relax. She finally made it. Her brother was barely conscious but she managed to find help._

 _Pushing the gate open with her hips, she could feel her vision start to blur from the stress of her brother dying on her back._

 _'Don't give out yet. I need to save onii-chan.'_

 _With that thought, she managed to lift her hand and pound on the door, uncaring of the time or the idea that no one would be home. She felt her knees start to buckle and just as she began to scream for help, the door opened revealing a young boy with orange hair. He looked half awake but he soon felt his vision clear at the sight of the young girl carrying a bleed man on her back. Her auburn hair was covered in blood and she looked like a complete wreck._

 _Before she could say anything, the young boy turned and screamed,_

 _"DAD!"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Isshin awoke to hearing the horror in his son's voice, jumping out of bed and rushed down the stairs. When he saw the small girl underneath the older male, his instincts kicked in._

 _"Ichigo, take her to get new clothes and get her cleaned up. Call the ambulance and get them down here immediately. After that, make sure your sisters are calm and try to get them back to bed. I'll do what I can to stop the bleeding."_

 _Both the young children watched as the doctor grabbed the heavy body from Orihime and quickly brought him to the back of the clinic. Sighing, Ichigo turned his attention to the girl behind him and his eyes widened when she started to fall over. He quickly caught her before she injured herself and brought her to the living room._

 _"Stay here okay? I'll be right back."_

 _Not getting a response from the quiet girl, he took that as a 'yes' and went to call the ambulance._

 _At this point Orihime wasn't even fully aware of her surroundings. She felt herself stare into space, her thoughts only on her brother who was currently dying. She didn't know if she made it on time, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt her breaths coming out in harsh pants. Her body began to shake as the tears continued to flow from her sore eyes. She clutched her skirt as the other hand went to her chest, trying to calm the stabbing pain._

 _A warm embrace caused her to snap out of the weird trance as a blanket was draped over her shoulders. Her grey eyes looked up to see a young girl with black hair staring back at her. Before she could even utter a response, a plastic cup was in her view, filled with a clear liquid._

 _"Here. It's water. You need to stay hydrated."_

 _Not trusting her voice, she gladly took the cup and began drinking the water. She didn't realize how sore her throat was as the cool liquid slid down easily and calmed the ache. She drank the water as though she had been dying of dehydration. When Karin saw she was done, she took the cup from her hands and went to get another refill. As soon as Karin left, a blonde haired girl came up to Orihime with a nightgown in her hand._

 _"It's best to get out of those clothes. There's a towel in the bathroom for you to dry off."_

 _Giving the young girl a smile, she nodded her head before heading toward the room with a light on. Closing the door lightly, she began to take off her shirt, letting it fall from her hands to the ground. She saw the towel hanging up and reached for it, drying her body as she peeled off her clothing. When she finally put the nightgown on, she could feel her bones ache from the stress and she felt the tears threatened to fall. Not realizing the tears had stopped, she splashed some water on her face before taking a deep breath._

 _She left the bathroom and could feel herself drag across the floor. She took her position on the couch where Yuzu still sat, Karin on the end of the couch with the water. Sitting in between them, she sent the girl a small smile before taking the cup and drinking once again. She felt Yuzu lean on her side, curling up to the young girl, and she couldn't help but smile at her as well. Placing the cup on the table, she noticed Ichigo coming back into the room, his eyes never leaving her._

 _"The ambulance are on their way."_

 _Not knowing what to say, she gave a short nod before feeling the blanket being draped over her and Yuzu. Ichigo had carefully placed it over the girls, not taking his eyes away from this picture. Despite there being a young girl who was a complete stranger to them, it seemed both Yuzu and Karin, who was feeling tired, snuggled into her, as though they were trying to comfort her. Not wanting to disturb them, Ichigo went to grab her wet clothing and throw them in the dryer. It was the least he could do to keep his anxious self occupied._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _It was ten minutes later when Isshin came out from the back, his expression grim. Ichigo sat on the table in front of the girls, holding onto Orihime's hand as a sign for comfort. It appeared she fell asleep, his two sisters sleeping peacefully beside her. He looked up from the ground to see his dad's expression and he felt his hand tighten around hers. This seemed to cause the girl to stir before she opened her eyes. She felt her body go stiff at seeing the taller man in the room._

 _Isshin was about to speak when the sound of the ambulance broke the silence. They heard loud knocking before Isshin quickly answered the door. He talked with the one guy while two more went to the back carrying a stretcher. Both looked at the girl before walking towards her. Ichigo felt her hand tighten around his in fear._

 _The guy who was wearing a helmet bent down to her level, wanting to show he was friendly and not set out to hurt her._

 _"What's your name, miss?"_

 _She looked at both Ichigo and Isshin who encouraged her to speak. "I-Inoue... Orihime."_

 _The paramedic smiled, "You have a lovely name Orihime-chan. Would you like to tell me what happened?"_

 _"W..Well... I had gotten into an argument yesterday with my brother and hadn't spoken with him all day. He was coming home from work and I felt bad about yelling without apologizing so I went to go meet up with him... As I stood on the corner waiting for him, a guy in a car came from out of nowhere.. I froze because I didn't know what to do, and before I realized what happened.. onii-chan was on top of me. He was barely conscious when I managed to pick him up and carry him here. This was the closest place and I don't know what happened to the driver.. We didn't have a phone so I couldn't call for an ambulance."_

 _He sighed, "Well the good news is someone else found the driver. He's currently at the hospital as we speak getting treated. I don't know how serious his damage was, but from what we heard so far, he'll make it. Your brother however..."_

 _As though Ichigo knew what was about to happen, he jumped from the table and held the girl as she tried to jump up, panic and fear in her eyes._

 _"Y-You're lying! He's going to make it!"_

 _Feeling Isshin's hand on her head, she looked up at the doctor who gave a sad smile._

 _"I'm sorry, Orihime-chan. I tried everything I could. He was almost gone by the time you got here."_

 _Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a small box and placed it in her hands as the paramedics left with his body. He didn't want her to see the state he was in, and chose to kept her preoccupied while they took his body away._

 _"His last words were this, 'Give this to Orihime. Tell her I love her and she doesn't have to apologize. I was never mad at her and she deserves to know that . This wasn't her fault and she shouldn't be blaming herself for any of this.'"_

 _The tears fell harder when she opened the box to reveal the sapphire hairpins that had caused their fight. At this point, the tears turned into sobs and she clutched the box tightly in her hands all the while being comforted by the orange haired boy. Not once had he let go of her that night, and what she didn't realize was she had made an impact on the Kurosaki family that day._

 _._

 _._

 _._

She couldn't help the smile grace her lips as the rain lightly hit her head. She just left school and was walking home alone as Tatsuki had practice that afternoon. She ignored the looks from the people who walked past her, questioning why she wasn't using an umbrella. She didn't seem to care her white uniform was getting wet for she continued to spin in it. She blinked when she couldn't feel the rain. She turned around to see her boyfriend carrying an umbrella.

"You're gonna get sick if you continue to dance like that."

She pouted, "Mou, Ichigo! Why must you ruin my fun?"

He chuckled before grabbing her hand with his free hand and pulled her down the side walk. "I don't want to hear about it from Tatsuki when you get sick. She always insists on blaming me every time you do something wrong. You should seriously do something about her."

"She's only concerned about my wellbeing. It's not like I tell her to get mad at you. Even when I try to defend you she insists on blaming you. I think she has a grudge against you."

He shrugged, "That's her problem. She shouldn't take it out on others."

Orihime giggled as they continued to walk down the street. She tightened her hold on his hand as they fell into a comfortable silence.

"You know, every time it rains, I think about the day we first met." she whispered as they trudged through the rain. "I mean, I still feel sad that onii-chan died that day and I hadn't given him a proper goodbye. But as sad as that, if he hadn't died there's a chance I wouldn't have met you. As selfish as that may seem, I can't help but feel happy every time it rains because it feels as though he's reassuring me that everything's okay. It feels as though the rain is comforting me and it's not a sad feeling at all. So.. I'm really thankful it rained that day."

At this point, they stopped and turned to look at each other.

He leaned closer until their foreheads were touching, "Why's that?" he whispered.

She couldn't stop the smile spread across her lips as she saw his eyes light up, "It bought me to you silly. What other reason would I have than that?"

He pulled her into a soft kiss that had both their toes curl up and smiles on their faces. She clutched his shirt as their kiss deepened, his hand letting go of the umbrella to wrap around her waist, a soft moan escaping her lips. Despite both of them losing a loved one in the rain, it had only seemed to make their bond that much deeper. Both of them were lucky to have found each other, and both of them weren't complaining with how it happened.

All that mattered was that it did happen.

Pulling away from each other, Ichigo scowled when he felt the rain drench his hair. "Oh great... Now I'm soaking wet."

Pressing another kiss to his lips, she giggled before pulling away, "You know my place isn't far from here. We can watch a movie and cuddle together."

Gripping her hand, he couldn't stop the smirk from his lips as he whispered, "Or there's other things we could do instead of cuddling."

She felt herself blush as his statement and all she did was yell,

"ICHIGO!"


	5. Chapter 5

So I almost forgot it was Ichigo's birthday today. I'm a fucking idiot haha. But I surprisingly remembered because of Tumblr. I'm really glad I did because I wanted to write something since I lack in drawing. -shot- but I feel this may be rushed, so I hope you like it anyways. I'll probably post on my tumblr too since I feel I need to post something. I'm just gonna stop ranting and actually get on with the story XD

* * *

He sighed, rubbing his hands against his face in a poor attempt to wipe the sleep from his eyes before turning his head towards the calendar across from his bed.

 _July 15_

 _'Terrific, just what I wanted to know. Now the old man will come barging in here screaming at the top of his lungs, making a big deal out of it-'_

The sound of thumping alerted him of his father's presence before a frown formed on his face. His bedroom door slammed against the wall before his father shouted,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR SON ICHI- ACK!"

Glaring at the lump on his floor, he felt his hands shake in rage before he felt the vein in his forehead pop, "WHAT THE HELL OLD MAN? CAN'T YOU CUT ME A BREAK?"

Storming out of his room, ignoring the 'omph' from his father, he headed down the stairs to see Yuzu placing the pancakes on the table. Karin was flicking through the channels on the tv, ignoring the rage seeping from her brother.

"Happy birthday Ichi-nii."

"Happy birthday onii-chan!"

He felt his lips form into a small smile at his sisters, before placing himself at the table. Even though Ichigo didn't see a big deal in birthdays, he knew his family did. He was just thankful his sisters weren't as crazy as their dad, who always seemed to make every little situation blow out of proportions. Deciding to dig into his breakfast, not wanting to be late, he ignored his sister as she yelled at their father that breakfast was done. Karin changed her position so she sat on the chair properly, focusing on the food in front of her.

"It must suck having to go to school on your birthday."

Ichigo shrugged, "I'm used to it. To be honest, I almost forgot it was my birthday. I just don't have the time to remember trivial things like that."

Karin smirked, "Are you busy thinking about Orihime-chan?"

Choking on his food, he grabbed the glass of milk before pounding lightly on his chest, feeling his face turn bright red at her accusations.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you."

She shrugged, "Yeah but if you hadn't, I'm sure I would've heard about it from Rukia. She's the one more interested in your love life than me. I'm just glad you finally got your head out of your ass and took notice to her. Have you even asked her out yet?"

Shaking his head, he sighed as he stared down at his plate, "Between catching up with school, hollow slayings, and training, I haven't found any time to talk with my friends much. Inoue will come by to make sure I'm fine, but I haven't exactly had time alone with her."

Karin looked at her brother in shock. She didn't think he'd be so open with her about this. Since she found out about both Ichigo and Isshin being soul reapers, both Karin and Yuzu have been starting small training of their own. Yuzu does it more on weekends when her time is free, but Isshin doesn't force her to learn as she's much too gentle. Karin is more hard headed and can hold her own, which is why she handles it better.

"I'm really glad you're talking to me about this, Ichi-nii. Before, you were so closed off and kept everything a secret. But now it feels like we can approach you again. I know it's not your fault as you didn't want to expose us to danger, but since we've been told, it feels less tense. Yuzu still worries about you, but I doubt that'll change. I'm just glad you're easier to read. And don't worry too much about Orihime-chan. It will happen."

Standing to clear their plates and put them in the sink, she turned to her older brother who sat there in shock, "You might want to get ready. Keigo-san and the others will be here shortly, and I doubt they'd want to be late for class."

Blinking, he stood up and headed upstairs before he paused,

"Thanks Karin."

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.

.

"Are you sure about this Tatsuki-chan?"

The Karate champion sighed for the eleventh time that morning. She knew her friend was very stubborn about most things, but when it came to her own happiness, she always shrugged it off and put it on hold. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she gave her signature grin.

"Trust me, Orihime. That idiot will realize it soon. It's his birthday today so it's the perfect time to do it!"

She felt her fingers twitch in nervousness. Tatsuki did have a point, and she did need to be more assertive. But every time she caught his chocolate gaze, she froze. Since the end of the war, there's been some underlining emotion within them she couldn't decipher. She tried as hard as she could, but she could never figure it out and then they'd both blink and turn away, blushes on their cheeks. When she told this development to Tatsuki, this made the girl come up with plans for her to confess but she always chickened out at the last second. She knew her friend's patience was running thin, and she really had to get over her fear of being rejected;

So why did she still hold back?

She didn't have time to contemplate this as she saw Ichigo walk in with Chad, Keigo and Mizurio in tow. His usual frown in place as Keigo continued to rant and rave about a topic he didn't care about. When he looked up, his gaze went right towards her, causing her to freeze in place. She felt her lips turn up in a smile as she moved her arm to wave,

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!"

She noticed his eyes soften a bit before he began approaching the two girls. She tried to focus on him and not the butterflies in her stomach. She wiped her sweaty palms against her skirt, trying to calm the racing of her heart. She had to do this. She had to get over her fear and just jump into it. Luckily, it was still early and not many students had arrived yet.

"Tatsuki.." Turning his gaze to the healer in front of him, his lips turned up, "Inoue."

"Hey, happy birthday big guy. You got any plans?"

He shrugged, "Not really. I don't celebrate my birthday. Plus it's a school night, what is there to really do?"

Tatsuki couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her lips, ' _This is perfect.' "_ Actually... Orihime has something she wanted to say to you."

Turning his gaze to the girl he'd developed a crush on, he couldn't help but notice her fidgeting and the look of nervousness on her face,

"Is something wrong Inoue?"

Giving her friend a small glare, she turned her attention to the love of her life as she felt her throat run dry,

"Ano..."

He felt his eyebrow raise in confusion before turning his body fully towards her. He didn't want her to think he was being rude or ignoring her.

"A-Are you free this weekend? I got these tickets to the newest Bad Shield movie but Tatsuki-chan is busy and I have no one to go with.. I heard you like the series and I thought I could ask you to come.. Consider it a birthday gift from me if you want.. Umm.."

He felt his eyes widened at her invitation. It seemed no one else heard her request which made him slightly relieved. He could handle Tatsuki's jabs but if Keigo or Chizuru had overheard and blubbered about it...

He saw her stand there, awaiting his response. Her face sported a nice shade of red as she ran her hand through her hair. He then realized she was just as nervous as he was. It only made her more adorable and he began to feel those annoying butterflies again.

Placing his hand on her head, he gave her a smile, a feeling he was foreign to creeping in his skin at the contact, before he replied,

"I'd love to go... Orihime."

He didn't realize the slip up but he watched as her eyes widened and the biggest smile adorned her face. A blush formed on his face as he changed to look at Tatsuki, a small smile on her face as his response.

"Great! I'll tell you the time and meeting place Friday after school."

He rubbed her head, noticing her hair's softness. "Sounds good, Orihime."

Before he turned to leave, he felt a small pressure on his cheek. From the corner of his eye, he saw Orihime turn ten different shades of red and he only then realized;

Inoue Orihime **kissed** him.

Even Tatsuki's eyes were widened before she smirked at the two, her arms crossed. He raised his free hand to his cheek, rubbing where she'd just kissed him. He couldn't stop the huge blush from forming on his face and he had to blink the fog from his head. When he looked down at her, he could've sworn he'd just died and gone to heaven. Not knowing how to respond, he stood in place, staring at his crush.

A huge smile graced her face.

"Happy birthday Ichigo-kun."


End file.
